Silence of the archives redux

This reflective essay revisits my 2013 article, ‘The Silence of the Archives,’ to explore its origins, reception, and continuing relevance for management and organizational history. I discuss the epistemic and methodological debates that shaped the original piece, including historiographical traditions, postcolonial theory, and the challenges of interdisciplinary engagement. The essay considers the ‘after-history’ of the article, particularly in light of digitization, oral history, and the rise of born-digital sources, and reflects on how these developments intersect with enduring archival silences. By situating archival research within broader conversations on reflexivity, narrative construction, and historical imagination, I argue for a more critical and inclusive approach to historical methods in management and organization studies.